Well, this is the first of four Philo Vance detective stories and it plays like a photographed stage play, excruciatingly slow and turgid. One has to "know" poker to understand Philo's technique of unmasking the murderer and the lengths the true murderer goes to to commit the crime are completely implausible, and impossible to achieve as explained here.All the actors speak and move in slow motion, as was the standard in early talkies, yet Powell is assured and urbane throughout, rightfully making him the star of the film.Louise Brooks had a further peg in her coffin as a Hollywood star by refusing to re-film her scenes, once the talkie version went into production. She appears only in the first 14 minutes. She is seen only in non-dialogue close ups and mid shots, derived from the silent version. To cover we have a stand-in in shadow or back-to, with her lines spoken by another actress, or her entirely out of the shot with the editor staying on her fellow actor while her dubber's lines are spoken.Well-done, but obvious. Again, I must say I just don't comprehend the fascination with Brooks. Any actress want-to-be off the Hollywood streets could have played this role and as well. No talent here at all.

"The Canary Murder Case" is a problematic film to watch. Apparently after it was made, the studio decided to re-shoot a few scenes and dub others in order to make this silent film a talking picture. This happened quite a lot in the late 1920s. But what made it tougher is that the temperamental Louise Brooks refused to return to re-shoot or re-dub so the studio had to make due with another lady's voice and re-shooting a few awkward scenes (such as having Ned Sparks' character talking to a screen and pretending she was behind it). Well, their gamble worked and the movie was a big success. When seen today, however, it's obvious that the film has issues! Now I am NOT saying it's a bad film but, like "Saratoga" (where the leading lady died in the middle of filming and they awkwardly had her stand-in do the missing scenes...with her back to the camera!), the ruse clearly shows.The 'Canary' in the title of this film is a nickname given to a horrible chorus girl, Margaret O'Dell (Brooks). She uses her sexual wiles to blackmail men..LOTS of men. The first 20 minutes of the film is used to establish MANY times MANY different potential murderers and SOMEONE croaked the 'lady'...but who?! Philo Vance (William Powell) and a dopey detective (Eugene Palette) investigate.When you watch this film, you need to cut it some slack. Films from 1929 simply aren't as polished as films made just a year or two later. The incidental music we take for granted is missing--which is normal for 1929 but not 1931 or later. It makes for a strangely quiet film. Also, unlike the bazillions of detective films of the 1930s and 40s, this one is remarkably talky and relies a lot on the detective's intuition instead of concrete facts. Not a great mystery movie by the standards of later films but watchable nevertheless.By the way, if you DO watch this film (and it's currently posted on YouTube), look at one of the potential murderers--he looks JUST LIKE LENIN!!! It wasn't--I checked.

Philo Vance (William Powell) is on the case of a showgirl named "The Canary" who was murdered in her locked apartment. The suspect list includes a number of men The Canary was blackmailing and all were in the vicinity of her apartment the night she died.Unfortunately, the backstory behind the making of The Canary Murder Case is much more interesting than the movie. Originally, The Canary Murder Case was to be a silent picture. But at the last minute, the studio decided to turn it into a talkie. Scenes had to be re-shot and lines had to be dubbed. But one of the film's stars, Louise Brooks, refused to participate. The studio hired another woman who resembled Brooks, shot her from the back, and used her voice for some of the worst dubbing I've ever heard. It's really an interesting story. The result of all this effort, however, is a very uneven film that often feels cobbled together.Getting past the backstory, The Canary Murder Case is dull. It's an early talkie and it shows. They just didn't know how to shot sound. The plot has a reasonably interesting twist near the end, but it is telegraphed so far in advance that it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Watching William Powell in this early Philo Vance effort, it's hard to believe this is the same man who would go on to play the absurdly (and I mean that in a good way) animated Nick Charles. Finally, the final reveal is so poorly shot that it's actually one of the duller moments of the film. What should have been the highlight is anything but.Overall, a 4/10 from me.

In "Paramount on Parade" William Powell essayed a spot on parody of Philo Vance, an intellectual man-about-town amateur detective, and when he was shot Inspector Heath (Eugene Palette) happily congratulated Fu Manchu. S.S. Van Dine had written his first Vance book in 1926 - "The Benson Murder Case", and it was a huge success. Philo Vance was independently wealthy and was always called into the cases by Heath when the police had given up - of course he always solved the crime!! In 1929 Paramount acquired the film rights to the first three Van Dine books and the first to roll out was "The Canary Murder Case". William Powell who had excelled in villainous roles was a brilliant choice for Vance. He played up the suavity and intellectualism but eliminated the stuffiness and pretentiousness that was quickly turning a lot of readers off!!Louise Brooks in feathers was enough to make this movie memorable, even though you didn't hear her distinctive throbby voice. She played "The Canary", a beautiful blackmailing showgirl who has set her sights on marrying into society and has her claws into Jimmy (James Hall) who in turn has patched things up with fellow show- girl Alice (for all Jean Arthur's top billing she has two small scenes).Definitely not as interesting as "The Greene Murder Case", once Brooks departed (she was the victim) after 15 minutes, there were no more ladies to brighten up proceedings. The plot was then propelled by a group of suspects - most of them older men whom the Canary was blackmailing. The climax came with a poker game, staged by the insufferable Mr. Vance, in an effort to use psychology to flush out the murderer. Until then chief suspect is young Jimmy but in a twist the murderer is killed and Philo Vance then takes centre stage to explain just how the murder had been done. Most interesting character is good old Ned Sparks as, believe it or not, Louise's husband back from "up the river" and eager to get his hands on some of her ill gotten loot!!The film was caught in the middle of the talkie change over. Initially filmed as a silent in 1928 it was extensively re-shot to make it a 1929 all talkie, which explains Louise Brook's reluctance to return for dialogue dubbing. The studio got their revenge by substituting the "dese, dems and dose" voice of Margaret Livingston - you just couldn't imagine that voice issuing from Louise's fair lips.